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birth control

·June 2, 2024·2 min read

Synthetic Estrogen in Birth Control Linked to Anxiety

Researchers suggest that the type of estrogen in hormonal birth control influences anxiety-like behaviors. Researchers found that synthetic estrogen in birth control led to increased anxiety behaviors in female rats compared to natural estrogen.

This shows a figure of a woman surrounded by pink pills.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 7, 2023·7 min read

Birth Control Pills Affect Women’s Stress Hormone Levels

Social activity reduces the levels of stress hormone ACTH in women not on birth control pills, but not in women who are. The study, involving women of an average age of 20.5 years, discovered the stress response in women off birth control depends on their menstrual cycle phase.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 15, 2022·4 min read

How Hormonal Birth Control May Affect the Adolescent Brain

Hormonal contraception disrupts signal transmission between cells in the prefrontal cortex of adolescents. Hormonal birth control also elevates levels of stress hormones in the brain.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 28, 2020·4 min read

Your Brain on Birth Control

Oral contraceptive use is associated with blunted stress response and brain activity differences during working memory tasks in women who started using birth control during puberty. Early adulthood exposure to oral contraceptives was linked to significant structural changes in brain areas associated with memory and emotional processing.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·May 20, 2020·3 min read

Birth control pills affect the love hormone

Women who take oral birth control pills have higher levels of oxytocin than women who don't use the pill.

This shows the brain scans of the hypothalamus

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Psychology

·December 4, 2019·2 min read

Key brain region smaller in birth control pill users

A new neuroimaging study reveals women who take oral contraception have reduced hypothalamic volume compared to women who do not take the pill. Smaller hypothalamic volume was associated with increased negative emotions and depression risk.